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Gottschall returns to Basketball Canada nationals
Gail MacDougall
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Point guard Melissa Gottschall will represent Nova Scotia at the Basketball Canada Under-17 National Championships in Toronto. Gottschall, a member of the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional Royals, will be making her second appearance in three years at the Cana-dian championships.
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For the second time in three years Melissa Gottschall will represent Nova Scotia at a Basketball Canada national championship.
Gottschall and her under-17 teammates will face the best in the country in tournament action Aug. 2-7 in Toronto.
The daughter of Ken and Ann Gottschall suited up for Nova Scotia in 2008. The team finished fourth at the nationals in Kamloops, B. C. losing to Quebec in the bronze medal game.
Nova Scotia coach Scott Munro, also coach of the Saint Mary’s women’s hoop team, has led Nova Scotia teams on many occasions.
Munro said Gottschall has played her way to a key spot with Team Nova Scotia.
“She handles the point for us and based on our line-up is the most true point guard we have,” the coach said.
“She’s carved a niche for herself there. Melissa also knows how to score. She can get to the basket, she can also knock down a three or hit some jump shots. She can do some key things for us for sure.”
Munro said he was impressed with Gottschall’s work ethic at tryouts, along with her understanding of the game. He added the Antigonisher handled the ball well and made good decisions from the point guard position.
“Those things pushed her towards the front of the line,” Munro said.
Last summer the 17-year-old played summer hoops with MEGA Wave in Halifax. She journeyed to the United States for competitions in Boston and New York.
“Playing in the summers definitely helps my game,” the teenager said.
“It’s great playing all year and it helps prepare you for high school.”
Travel and time commitments have been huge for Gottschall with all practices held in Halifax.
“We go every weekend and sometimes during the week,” she said.
“Basketball takes a lot of dedication from me and my family but I like it, it’s fun and I want to keep playing it.”
In addition to practices and games Gottschall said she spends in the vicinity of two-and-a-half to three hours a day on her game.
She is using weights in increase her strength and spends time on improving her agility.
“I also make at least 200 shots a day,” she said.
“I also spend a lot of time on my ball-handling.”
Gottschall attended provincial team tryouts in the spring and felt she had a solid audition.
“I think I moved the ball well and my decisions were pretty good,” she commented.
The basketball junkie said her ball-handling, her vision and intensity are among her best traits and added her decision making and her shot have been improving.
Gottschall enjoys playing point guard for both the provincial team and the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional Royals.
“I’m a playmaker driving inside and kicking the ball out for my teammates to get some shots,” she said.
“I also try to run the game in terms of tempo. Defensively I usually guard one of the quicker players on the other team, so it’s important for me to play well on defense.”
She will enter her fourth and senior season with the Royals this fall.
“Playing high school has made me a lot more competitive,” Gottschall said.
“You learn that you can’t under-estimate any opponent and you also can’t give teams too much credit. It’s anyone’s game.”
The Nova Scotia team competed in two tournaments this summer placing second in the Bluenose tournament in Halifax, while posting a 2-1 record at last weekend’s Summerfest tournament hosted by Basketball New Brunswick.
Gottschall averaged 9.3 points per game in the BNB event.
Nova Scotia will play in a pool with teams from New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The second pool features historically solid clubs from Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.
Munro said the tournament format is new this year for the under-17 division.
“Our side of the draw is playing to get into the top six group on the other side when they do the re-classification,” the coach said.
“There are some games there that are winnable for sure and if we finish in the top two in our pool we’ll get to advance and that’s the goal.”
Munro said the Nova Scotia team has decent size although there is no dominant 6’4” player.
He said the team is competitive and if they do a good job rebounding the basketball things should work out well.
Nova Scotia has four players returning from last year’s team that placed seventh at the Canada Games competition.
The top six teams in each division advance to a single elimination consolation round, while the bottom three teams play a round-robin format for placing.
The gold medal game is slated for Saturday evening, Aug. 7, at 8:15 p.m.
“We’re expecting a medal,” Gottschall said.
“That’s our goal going into the tournament. Personally I want to contribute as much as I can both offensively and defensively.”
Gottschall said playing intercollegiate basketball is definitely a goal for the future.
“That will take a lot of commitment though,” she commented.
“You have to work at your game throughout the year to prepare yourself for that level.”
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